Ukranian border guards made an unusual discovery at a Moldova crossing when they uncovered a man in woman’s clothing trying to escape the country.
The State Border Guard Service of Ukraine claims to have stopped a taxi near Odessa in the south of the country carrying a strangely tall, deep-voiced person in women’s clothes earlier today.
According to the Border Guard Service’s Twitter page, the 26-year-old traveller was carrying a temporary conscript’s certificate while attempting to enter Moldova, raising the guards’ suspicions that they had a deserter on their hands.
Under the current martial law in place in Ukraine, men aged between 18 and 60 are forbidden from leaving the country and instead are expected to enlist in the Ukrainian army to fight the Russians.
The nearby port city Mariupol has been under siege by the Russians for weeks, reducing the city to a husk and decimating the civilians population through shelling and starvation.
Reports indicate that the city may soon fall to the Russians after a fierce battle resulted in a Ukrainian marine brigade surrendering, bringing Odessa into the crosshairs of the invaders next.
A video of the incident shows the tall person wearing a leopard skin hat getting out of the car and being quizzed by border guards by the side of the road.
They have a poke around in the boot of the car, seeing suitcases and luggage for what could well be an extended journey.
The conversation goes on for some time, with the disguised man seeming to do some explaining.
The scene cuts to indoors, and the suspect is seen signing some documents.
It is not known exactly what happened to the hopeful deserter but it is presumed that he did not make it to Moldova.
There are exceptions to conscription if a person is ineligible on medical grounds, if the person is looking after three children or more, raising a child alone, or raising a child with a disability.
